King James I – Jacques, Giacomo – of Cyprus was regent for his infant nephew King Peter II before he became King. He was also titular King of Armenian Cilicia and Jerusalem.

He is my 15 x great-grandfather.

James was born in 1334, son of Hugh IV of Cyprus and Alix of Ibelin, Cyprus1.

Titles

Between 1369-1375 James was co-regent of Cyprus for his nephew Peter II of Cyprus1.

In 1382, he succeeded his nephew as King2 and his coronation was in May 1385, in Nicosia’s Saint Sophia Cathedral. Cyprus then bestowed further titles on him in Nicosia1:

  • In 1389, titular King of Jerusalem.
  • In 1393, titular King of Armenia, although at this point Armenia controlled a single fortress.
A photo of Selimiye Camii Mosque (previously Santa Sophia Cathedral)
Selimiye Camii Mosque (previously Santa Sophia Cathedral) – Nicosia, Turkish-occupied Cyprus

Family

Pope Urban V granted papal dispensation for James’ marriage to Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen on 1 May 13651. They wed 14 days later; Helvis was only 12 at the time1.

Together they had 12 children1:

  1. An unnamed daughter born in 1372, who died at the age of 2.
  2. Janus, who became Janus I of Cyprus.
  3. Philippe, who became the Constable of Cyprus in 1401.
  4. Eudes, who became Count of Tripoli.
  5. Hugh, who became Archbishop of Nicosia.
  6. Henry, who became the titular Prince of Galilee.
  7. Marie, who married the King of Naples.
  8. Isabelle, who married the Constable of Jerusalem.
  9. Eschiva
  10. Agnes, or Anne, who died in Savoy. (She married Duke Louis of Savoy and Louis’ father saw this as a reason to claim Cyprus as his own. He even had coins minted with the legend “Cypria Recepta” which translates as “[girl] received” or “[girl] accepted”3.)
  11. Guy.
The coat of arms of Kings of Armenia, Jerusalem and Cyprus
The coat of arms of Kings of Armenia, Jerusalem and Cyprus

Notable events

While he was still co-regent, James led a war against the Genoese in 13724. His nephew Peter betrayed him by signing a pact with Genoa whereby he kept Famagusta but James had to leave Cyprus1. James tried to seek refuge in Rhodes but Genoa found him. International treaties stipulated that James had to pay the cost of the damages incurred4. Since he couldn’t pay, Genova imprisoned himimprisoned him in 1375 at ‘la Mal paga‘1 4 which was a debtors prison. He was incarcerated with Helvis and is where he finally consummated his marriage.

A photo of the Mala Paga walls - Genoa, Italy
The Mala Paga walls – Genoa, Italy

In 1385, Peter II died without issue1. The Supreme Court of Cyprus decided James should be king1. In April 1385, Genoa released James and he returned to Cyprus. Janus and Helvis travelled to Nicosia with two of their sons, leaving their first-born son in prison as a hostage1.

Cyprus bought James’ freedom by granting Genoa commercial monopolies for trade to the Levant, paying annual taxes to them and by transferring Famagusta to Genoan control1. These conditions crippled the Kingdom. It took a further 5 years before James managed to buy his son’s freedom and bring him to Cyprus1.

Death

He died in Nicosia, Cyprus on September 9th2 or 20th1, 1398 due to unknown causes. They buried him in the San Domenico church in Nicosia, Cyprus1.

Lineage

James I of Cyprus is my 15 x great-grandfather.

  1. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2022-03-19[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  2. Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia; As observed by author; 2022-04-10[↩][↩]
  3. Aftermath of War: Cypriot Christians and Mediterranean Geopolitics, 1571-1625; Lubin, Matthew; University of North Carolina; 2012[↩]
  4. Cipro Veneziano; Evangelia Skoufari; Rome; 2011 [↩][↩][↩]